Medical billing and coding guidelines change every year. The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) is updated annually to ensure that all work is to the same standard. Acting as the backbone of the American healthcare industry and the uniform language of medicine, the CPT code set keeps care accessible and equitable for all, regardless of the medical services they access.
418 total changes were registered for 2026, with the majority of these being brand-new codes. Let's take a closer look at these updates and how they may affect healthcare professionals, billers, and coders.
Why do the CPT codes change?
Medical services and practices are always evolving. Some procedures, even from the start of this century, are now considered outdated, with new practices being brought in to better care for patients and deliver positive outcomes. CPT codes exist to act as a universal language between healthcare professionals and payers, and so this language needs to evolve alongside its practices.
Creating new codes and deleting or retiring outdated ones ensures that levels of care can be accurately recorded. Annual reviews of this comprehensive index of codes ensure that billers and coders can navigate effectively between different specialties and create a list of specific procedures to be transformed into a bill for services rendered.
Who updates the CPT code sets?
The American Medical Association (AMA) is responsible for editing and evolving the code set every year. The CPT Editorial Panel consists of 21 members chosen by the AMA, who then review and revise codes based on recommendations from experts across the healthcare industry and federal agencies.
When finalized, the new codes are available from the AMA. It is a legal requirement to use the updated, accurate code sets as mandated by HIPAA, and using outdated codes will lead to claim denials and rejections.
When do the 2026 CPT codes go into effect?
Most of the 2026 CPT codes are already in effect and have been since January 1, 2026.
Recommendations and input are already being accepted for the 2027 code sets. Any qualified healthcare professional can attend one of the CPT Editorial Panel Meetings, potentially directly impacting the code descriptors and entries for next year.
Some codes are released on a slightly different schedule. This ensures that the panel has adequate time to prepare the changes and that real-time responses can be accounted for throughout the year. These code categories include:
- Category I immunization codes
- Category III codes
- Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) codes
- Administrative Multianalyte Assays With Algorithmic Analyses (MAAA) codes
What are the new CPT codes for 2026?
288 new codes have been added, and 46 have been revised in 2026 (*).
These new codes cover all areas of healthcare, from general surgery to specific specialties and management codes. Key themes driving the 2026 updates include:
Digital health and remote monitoring
With care now increasingly extending outside traditional clinical settings, codes related to remote patient monitoring (RPM) have undergone a significant expansion. These updates aim to capture flexible, technology-enabled care models with greater accuracy and support reimbursement for care received from wearable devices and home monitoring tools. Changes include but are not limited to:
- New codes allowing the reporting of remote monitoring over shorter intervals (2-15 days in a 30-day period) (*).
- The update of device supply and management codes, with treatment management now billable after just 10 minutes per month (*).
- Remote monitoring descriptors (99453, 99454) and related codes are revised to match modern device usage and clinical documentation requirements (*).
Artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented analytics services
For the first time, the CPT code set includes Category I codes that describe services where AI supports clinician work. These codes recognize that AI is becoming part of clinical workflows, not just part of research, and is also helping coders and practices bill and track advanced analytic services. New codes include:
- AI-assisted diagnostics such as coronary plaque assessment from CT imaging (*).
- Perivascular fat analysis for cardiac risk, and other analytical services where software enhances interpretation (*).
PLA services
PLAs account for 27% of the new codes. These are designed to reflect the changes in modern commercial medical labs, and include new molecular diagnostics, genetic tests, and advanced assays. The rapid expansion of these codes reflects the growth we have recently seen in diagnostic innovation.
How many CPT codes have been deleted in 2026?
84 codes have been deleted in the 2026 updates.
Many codes are deleted to ensure that accurate reporting can take place. For example, one of the codes deleted from the 2026 code descriptors is the term "peritoneoscopy." This was initially deleted from laparoscopy codes in 1996, as the two terms cover the same procedure; peritoneoscopy is just an older term. However, it was still used in some guidelines and anatomical and procedural illustrations. The 2026 code set removes it in its entirety, removing ambiguity and improving coding accuracy.
How do the new CPT codes affect medical coding?
The rollout of new codes does affect how organizations bill medical procedures. However, since these are annual changes, solutions like Aptarro's RevCycle Engine are quick to react and ensure updates are rolled out quickly.
Manual coders will need to familiarize themselves with the updates as they roll out. With the 2026 changes, they should already be making use of the new codes without issue. Aptarro's tools are always updated quickly to ensure that your coders are able to proceed as usual, confident that all changes are already logged in the system.
Documentation is becoming more granular than ever, and the relationships between payers and providers need to be efficient and straightforward. Ensure that your medical coding is up-to-date with the CPT 2026 guidelines, and revolutionize your billing automations with results that actually meet your needs and demands. Request a demo from Aptarro today, and let's work together towards a smarter way to faster revenue, with fewer errors.
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